“You guys really think there are other players in the area?” Alexx asked, eyes wide.

“Maybe,” Loran said. “It’s more likely that the Mountain Goats have a large territory. They could easily be a thousand miles away.”

“But this is a pretty large valley,” Zed said. “There could be a low-level area near the base of the mountains.”

Loran looked at Zed skeptically. “Another starting area so close to ours, and in the middle of a high-level area with no natural barriers?”

Zed shrugged. “Why not?”

“Yeah, and you always talk with Yang about how messed up the design for this game is. Why wouldn’t they do something like that?”

“Hm… I guess it’s possible.”

“So does that mean we’re going to go looking for them?”

“Not right now,” Loran said, walking back towards the woods. “It’s going to take most of a day just to get here from the campsite. I mean it’s why we’re using the campsite to search for the ant nest after all.”

“So we’ll need another camp to look for the players?” Alexx asked, finding the idea too extravagant.

“Maybe, but finding other players would definitely be worth it. Besides, these fields seem peaceful enough that we could get away without too much setup.” Zed shrugged. “Hell, we could probably just keep going right now.”

“We don’t know that for sure though,” Loran said, “and we need to get back and let the others know. I’d rather not be considered dead for the second time in a week.”

“Three times actually,” Alexx said. “A couple people thought you were dead when you were stuck with Yang.”

“Even more reason to go back. Let’s get going.”

~~~~~

The three were making their way back to the campsite at a brisk pace. Although Alexx still needed the occasional break to catch his breath, they didn’t need to come to a complete stop like they did when Loran was making the map. It didn’t change the fact that they were traveling several miles, but they would certainly be back faster.

Or at least, they would have had there been no interruptions.

“Hold on guys,” Loran said, “we’re changing course.”

“Why? Did we take a wrong turn at Albuquerque?” Alexx asked jokingly.

“It seems like Zed will get to have some fun today after all.”

“Really?” Zed’s face lit up like a neon sign. “Where, what, and how many?”

“Five Iron Ants, just follow me,” he said, adjusting their course.

It took less than a minute for their targets to appear from between the trees, five Iron Ants charging forward to meet them.

“So, do we have a plan?” Loran asked.

“I don’t think there’s much planning to do for me and Zed. Loran, you focus on throwing them around, try knocking them into each other.”

“SoundsgoodtomeLETSGO!” Zed bolted forward at full speed, too excited to hold back after a full day of waiting for a battle. The instant the Iron Ants were within range, he swung the blunt end of his spear in a wide, sweeping attack.

Of the five ants, Zed’s attack managed to catch the first two while the other three were able to evade. The two ants were knocked back a few feet, rolling as they hit the ground.

One of the ants that Zed missed continued its forward charge, making an attack on his ankle. Zed leapt back quickly, dodging the Iron Ant’s jaws by a matter of inches. As he fell back, all five ants were within his line of sight.

“Come on cannon fodder, let's play!” He shouted, activating [TAUNT] five times in rapid succession.

Whatever plan the ant’s tiny minds had in them were all thrown away as each was overcome with an intense desire to eviscerate Zed. The five charged forward, unintentionally surrounding him as each tried to sink their mandibles into his soft flesh.

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Zed was able to quickly knock aside the Iron Ant that had tried to bite him, but a moment later he was forced into a defensive position as the attacks of the five giant insects began to overwhelm him. He looked for an opening to attack, but even with his speed enhanced by [SPRINT] the best he could do was dodge and lightly knock aside their heads as the ants tried to bite and jump at him.

It was then that Zed felt a chill go down his spine as something big came hurtling towards him from his peripheral. He nearly tried to strike at it with the jagged blade of his spear, before realizing that the large object was in fact Alexx being launched forward by a powerful jump. Whether it was his new Skill propelling him or just his stats, Alexx was currently flying through the air with speed comparable to the [SPRINT] boosted Zed, and the Iron Ants, currently distracted by the effects of [TAUNT] were unable to even consider evading the oncoming attack.

As Alexx’s foot touched the ground, he swung his other leg in a powerful kick that swept up two of the ants and launched them forward.

*CRACK*

The two ants collided with a tree and fell to the ground, their shells cracked and their movements slow and pained.

With his foot raised, Alexx attempted to stomp on one of the ants, but it avoided the attack as it continued its assault on Zed.

“Cover each other!” Alexx shouted to Zed.

Zed said nothing but dodged behind Alexx as he fended off the ants with a few quick strikes.

The ants quickly turned around to continue their charge, but one was suddenly pulled off its feet as Loran hooked it with his pick.

“Heads up guys,” Loran said, tossing the ant high into the air above Alexx and Zed.

“Mine,” Zed said, swinging his spear to strike at the helpless, airborne ant. The attack clocked the ant in the head and caused it to land right on top of the ants Alexx had kicked, which had just regained their bearings.

The two ants that were chasing after Zed struggled to get past Alexx while under the effect of the [ENRAGED] debuff. Perhaps if they were like the Moss Wolves and had claws that could land a quick, passing attack they would do so, but the ants only had their powerful mandibles to attack with and would need to focus on Alexx to use them. Until the debuff wore off, the ants could only try to charge past Alexx, who could easily predict their single-minded movements and knock them aside.

As one of those ants was knocked aside, Zed brought his spear down directly on its head, activating both [CRITICAL STRIKE] and [POWER ATTACK] as he did. Zed’s face scrunched up as he saw the ant continue its attack, a dent in its carapace but still not dead.

Before Zed could try to attack it again, one of the other ants jumped at him. Thrusting his spear against the ground, Zed jumped out of the way of the two attacking ants. The airborne ant flew past him and nearly landed on Alexx’s back, but was quickly struck down by Loran.

Zed landed, finding himself surrounded, as the two ants Alexx kicked were finally able to rejoin the fight. However, before they could attack they stopped suddenly, as did the other ants. The [ENRAGED] debuff wore off, leaving the insects briefly confused.

Neither Loran, Zed, or Alexx was going to miss such an opportunity, and so each quickly picked out an ant and lashed out at it.

Loran did not go for a normal attack, opting to hook the ant he had struck down with his pick and fling it to the edge of the fight.

Alexx stomped heavily on the back of one of the ants he was fighting, easily crushing it and pressing its body into the dirt below with a palpable thud.

Zed aimed a powerful thrust at the ant with the injured head. The spear connected and made a sound like billiard balls smashing together, pushing the ant back and revealing a small but definite crack on its head.

“Your turn Loran!” Zed dashed forward and raised his spear like a golf club, swinging it hard and sending the ant with the cracked head flying towards Loran.

Hearing Zed’s call, Loran’s eyes locked onto the gap in the tumbling ant’s armor. Swinging his pick, he expertly drove the sharp point into the crack, bringing the ant to the ground and forcing more of the weapon through the insect’s grey matter.

Pulling his weapon from the now dead ant, Loran looked up to see the remaining Iron Ants converging on him. Whether it was because they had just watched him kill one of their kin or because they noticed he was the weakest of the group, the ants were ready to take him out first.

Loran immediately jumped back, not even willing to consider fighting directly in his current state. As he did so, Zed stepped in and aimed an attack at the nearest ant.

The ant moved back to avoid the attack, but in doing so walked directly into Alexx’s attack range and was stomped into the ground for its mistake. The ant wasn’t dead, but it was certainly trapped as its head and thorax were buried from the force of Alexx’s attack.

Alexx was about to finish the ant off, but was forced to evade as the remaining two ants turned their focus to him, biting at his ankles.

“Round two Zed!” Before they could close in on the brawler, Loran maneuvered himself behind the ants, tossing one into the air towards Zed. “I’ll take the one in the hole, you two take them.”

With the remaining ants now heavily injured and divided, finishing them off was quick and easy work.

Zed aimed carefully at his target as it landed, delivering a powerful blow that crushed a few of its legs and drew out a shriek of agony. Now barely able to move, the ant was helpless as Zed crushed it with his spear.

Loran planted his foot on the head of the ant in the dirt before it could make any progress on freeing itself, keeping it trapped and immobile as he began hammering away at its shell.

Alexx thought he might have a somewhat hard fight ahead of him, but the ant chose to leap at him instead of chasing him on the ground. Being given such a predictable target, Alexx easily landed a quick punch that knocked the ant against a nearby tree. Before the ant could even finish falling, Alexx closed in and finished it off with a powerful kick that crushed the ant and even smashed through the tree behind it.

The three stood in stunned silence as the destroyed tree fell over with a heavy crash that echoed through the woods, soon replaced by only the sounds of their own breathing.

“Well,” Zed said, looking like someone who had just settled into their favorite chair after a long day at work, “I feel better.”